We caught up with Owen about the importance of visuals to her songwriting, releasing new material after a streaming mega success, and what song she puts on when she wants to ache in a good way. After all, “Julia, East Coast” will be a go-to when we get in that masochistic mood as the seasons start to turn. 

Who is Willa Owen and how would you describe the music you play? 

At my core, I am a singer-songwriter. I grew up in Nova Scotia, where I started the Willa Owen project, but have since moved to Montreal and have been writing and recording there for the last two years. I make alt-pop music that explores themes of identity, heartbreak and personal growth and I love to incorporate visual imagery in my writing to support its storytelling. Sonically, I typically gravitate towards pared down, organic instrumentation. Acoustics bring a kind of warmth and intimacy that I find suits my lyrics best. 

Congratulations on your new video. Can you tell us a little bit about how the video came to be? 

Thank you! It was a real labour of love and I’m so happy with how it turned out. I teamed up with this wonderful creative, Laura-Lynn Petrick, to put things together. We shot the video over a two day camping trip and based ourselves on beautiful Lac-Lajoie a couple hours north of Montreal. I really wanted to create some scenes that reflected a sense of searching and longing to support the song’s theme. I made a series of mood boards with places I envisioned and Laura-Lynn came up with a perfect little lineup of locations to capture everything.

How was the energy on set shooting this video?

It was really special. This song deals with quite an intense emotional experience and I felt lucky to have Laura-Lynn with me to move through the days and try different things out based on what felt comfortable. It was also just a pleasure to explore these places and capture different moments, lighting, and colours. 

How would you describe your relationship to visuals, and how does it connect with your relationship to music?

Visuals and music for me go completely hand in hand. When I’m writing lyrics, I’m simultaneously imagining characters, places and moments that the music exists in, so creating a visual representation of the music is often just as important to me as the music itself. It’s all part of building the world that the story can live in to be understood and felt.

You currently have two singles on Spotify, one of which is your most recent single “Looking At Me,” which came out in 2023 and has more than one million streams. How does it feel releasing a new single following that success? 

There are some mixed feelings for sure, but I think I’m mostly just excited and happy to be releasing again. It was definitely a nice experience when the second single got that little moment in the sun and having my music resonate and connect with new audiences is always something I hope for. At the same time, I’m reminding myself that I just need to continue making music I love and feel good about. With any luck, that authenticity will be the key to further connection!

You wrote “Julia, East Coast” on October 31 and it perfectly captures autumn. Is there anything particular about Halloween or the fall season that influenced your creative process for this song? 

I find autumn to be a particularly introspective time of the year. The summer is packed with a lot of vibrance and movement and then autumn ushers in some nice quiet and time to pause. I think given the personal nature of this song, I really needed that space and slowness to pull out the story I wanted to tell. I had to reckon with some difficult feelings and I think this season was the perfect time to do it.

“Julia, East Coast” is the kind of song that makes you ache, but in a good way. Sometimes feeling sad can be strangely enjoyable. What’s your go-to song when you want to wallow in melancholy? 

This is a tough one, there are so many! I’ll go with “The Greatest” by Cat Power. 

Describe your perfect day in Montreal. 

Grab a cappuccino at Café Olimpico in the Mile End and then do a little thrifting along Saint-Laurent. Pick up a spanakopita from Melina’s on Parc for lunch and go for a nice long walk in the sun on the mountain. Finish off the day with a game of pool at Taverne du Pélican followed by a late dinner at Pichai for some yummy Thai.

What is your favourite live music memory in Montreal?

I have two. I saw Arlo Parks at Théâtre Beanfield this past March and it was an absolute dream. The room was so full of love for Arlo and her words and despite it being such a large audience it felt really intimate getting to enjoy such personal music as a crowd all together.

My other favourite memory is seeing Kavinsky at Igloofest with two of my dearest friends last January. We were all bundled up and dancing in a sea of people as the snowflakes fell… Pure joy!

Anything else you want us to know about Willa Owen and your new video single? 

I’m really thrilled to be putting out this new song and video after taking some time away to work behind the scenes and am looking forward to sharing more about upcoming releases and hopefully some live shows as well very soon!